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Louise Redknapp
Louise Elizabeth Redknapp '(nee Nurding, born November 4, 1974) is an English singer and media personality. She was a member of Eternal, an R&B girl group which debuted in 1993 with their quadruple-platinum studio album Always & Forever. In 1995, Redknapp departed the group for a solo career, in which she released the platinum-selling albums Naked (1996), Woman In Me (1997) and Elbow Beach (2000). Redknapp has sold over 5 million records in the UK alone, and 15 million records worldwide. Aside from music, Redknapp is also a television presenter, and she has presented several television shows and was a judge on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance. She is married to the English footballer and television pundit Jamie Redknapp. In 2016, she reached the final in the fourteenth series of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. Early Life Redknapp was born in Lewisham, London. Her father was a builder and her mother worked at Gatwick Airport. Louise and her two younger brothers grew up in Eltham, London and Oxted, Surrey. At the age of 11, she joined the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, where she met her future Eternal colleague Kelle Bryan on her first day. Music Career 'Eternal While out clubbing at the age of16, Louise met the music producer Denis Ingoldsby, who was forming an all-girl group. She subsequently introduced Denis to Kelle Bryan. Kelle and Louise, together with sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, formed the band Eternal in 1992. The group performed R&B, and recorded a number of hits during the 1990s, Eternal's debut single "Stay" entered the UK charts at number four, and their debut album, Always and Forever became the first album by a female group to achieve over a million sales in the UK. Louise left the group in 1995 to pursue a solo career, amid unsubstantiated rumours that she was forced to leave because a radio station in the United States dedicated to black music would not promote the racially mixed group. 'Solo Career with EMI' In late 1995, Louise signed a record deal with First Avenue management and EMI Records. Now professionally known simply as "Louise", her debut solo single was the orchestral ballad "Light of My Life" (which reached number eight on the UK charts). Her second solo release, "In Walked Love" (previously a hit from the self-titled 1992 album by the dance/pop group Expose), fared less well and missed the UK Top Ten. However, Louise's third single, "Naked", turned things around and became her then biggest hit to date, peaking at number five in the UK. Louise's debut solo album, also entitled Naked, was subsequently released in 1996 on the back of the single's success. The album received lukewarm reviews, but nevertheless peaked at number seven in the UK album charts. It was later certified Platinum by the BPI for over 300,000 copies sold. Two further singles were released: "Undivided Love" (UK #5) and "One Kiss From Heaven" (UK #9). In 1997, Louise returned with the single "Arms Around The World", which reached number four in the UK. Her second solo album, Woman in Me, peaked at number five in the UK and went on to gain multi-platinum status. The album also made an impact across Europe, charting well in a number of countries. To support and celebrate the success of the album, Louise embarked on a UK wide "sell-out" arena tour of over twenty dates, including Wembley Arena. "Let's Go Round Again" (a cover of a song by The Average White Band) was the second single released from the album, which reahced number ten. At the start of 1998, Louise's career was at a high point, her second album had gone platinum, she was on the cover of magazines such as Smash Hits and GQ, and had been voted The Sexiest Woman In The World by the readers of FHM magazine. In 1998, Louise married the footballer Jamie Redknapp, then focused on making what she described as her "most personal album to date", Elbow Beach. Released in 2000, Louise was more involved in the process of this album than her previous two, co-writing all 12 tracks and co-producing most of them. The lead single from Elbow Beach, theR&B styled "2 Faced" went straight into the charts at number three, and became Louise's highest charting single. Despite the initial hype and critical praise, total sales for Elbow Beach were weaker than the previous two productions, and the album peaked at number twelve. The same year, Louise was hired to "sex up" the 2000 National Egg Awareness Campaign. After Elbow Beach was released, she had one album left on her five-album deal with EMI (including Eternal's Always and Forever). In 2001, the label decided to release a greatest hits compilation, incorporating all of her top ten hit singles (including those she had performed with Eternal), called Changing Faces - The Best Of Louise. The collection featured three new tracks, including a cover of Five Star's 1987 hit "The Slightest Touch". The album peaked at number nine in the UK, and she embarked on the second solo tour of her career. EMI later released a second greatest hits album entitled Finest Moments, with a slightly different track listing. 'After EMI' In 2002, Redknapp signed a £1.5 million contract with her manager Oliver Smallman's Positive Records (a division of Universal Music) to record her fourth solo album. The album was due for release in 2004 alongside the single "Bounce Back". However, due to the singer's becoming pregnant with her son Charley, the album was never released. The only single released from the album was the double A-side "Pandora's Kiss"/"Don't Give Up", which peaked at number five and raised money for Tickled Pink/Breast Cancer Care. The unreleased album saw Louise work with the likes of Sylvia Bennett Smith and Marc "M2E" Smith (Destiny's Child, Jamelia, Stacie Orrico, Terri Walker), Mark Hill (Craig David) and Pete Martin (Sugababes, Dannii Minogue, Nate James0. The album would also have included Louise's first duet with boyband 2rd Wish on the track "Don't Ever Change". In August 2017, Redknapp posted a picture of herself in the recording studio on her Instagram account, showing that she had been working on new music. On September 13, 2017 Louise revealed she would be returning to the music industry by announcing her first LIVE show in more than 15 years at Under The Bridge in London in December 22, 2017. Titled "Intimate & live," the show had enough demand for tickets selling out in under 5 minutes, leading promoters and Louise to announce additional dates for January 2018 in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. Career On television, Louise has presented editions of SMTV Live, CD:UK, Soccer Aid: Extra Time, This Morning (interviewing fashion designer Tracy Boyd and others), three series of the revived The Clothes Show for UKTV Style, and in March 2017 the controversial documentary The Truth About Size Zero for ITV. Alongside her husband Jamie Redknapp and former footballer Tim Sherwood, Louise published a magazine called Icon, aimed solely at professional sports stars and celebrities. They later sold the magazine to another publisher. Redknapp has been seen as the face of a number of advertising campaigns: the "Safe And White" campaign for Boots, Flora's "Omega 3" products, Boots and BT. She is currently brand ambassador for the new Orbit gum Complete detox guide to teeth and mouth and a model for Avon. In autumn 2007, Redknapp was unveiled as the new face of Triumph lingerie for 2007, 2008 and 2009. In November 2008, the Redknapp family were also unveiled as the Nintendo Wii Family for their Christmas 2008 advertising campaign followed by The Louise Redknapp Nintendo Wii Fit Campaign in March 2009. In 2010, Louise and husband Jamie fronted a new campaign by Thomas Cook promoting their holidays on TV and throughout the media. In 2009, Louise filmed a follow up Documentary The Truth about Super Skinny Pregnancies displaying the pressures on women to stay in shape during and after their pregnancies. In September 2009, Redknapp presented The Farmer Wants a Wife for Five, a relaunch of a series which originally appeared on ITV in 2001. In 2009 Louise was also announced as the face of online fashion retailer Fashion Union. In January 2010, Redknapp took over from Amanda Hamilton as the full-time presenter of the BBC Sunday morning programme Something for the Weekend. However she was not asked to join her co-presenters when the show moved to Channel 4 in March 2012. She was a judge on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance, broadcast on BBC One. In the July 2004 edition of FHM, Louise was named the "Sexiest Woman of the Decade". In 2011, Louise made her acting debut alongside Ray Winstone as Diana Smith in the feature film The Hot Potato. Louise has a cosmetic range Wild About Beauty, which she launched with make-up artist Kim Jacob. On August 15, 2016, Redknapp was announced as a contestant for the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. She reached the 2016 finals with profesional dancer Kevin Clifton, but lost out on the title of series champion to BBC sports presenter Ore Oduba. Personal Life Louise married football player Jamie Redknapp at a ceremony in Bermuda on June 29, 1998. After a diagnosis of back pain from endometriosis, and treatment by laser surgery, Louise gave birth to a boy named Charles William "Charley" Redknapp on July 27, 2004 at London's Portland Hospital. Charley was named after Louise's grandfather, who died on the day that Louise found out that she was pregnant. She gave birth to her second son, Beau Henry Redknapp, November 10, 2008, also at Portland Hospital. Louise stated that Beau was named as a tribute to Jamie's father, the football manager Harry Redknapp, because Harry was born on Bow. Philanthropy In 2003, Louise's single "Pandora's Kiss"/"Don't Give Up", was released to raise money for Breast Cancer Care's "Tickled Pink" campaign. Louise has also participated in a celebrity edition of The Apprentice in 2008 to raise money for charity. (Over £400,000 was raised). Louise organised a charity sale of celebrity designer clothes at the London department store Selfridges for the charity Mothers4Children in November 2009. Discography 'Albums' 'Singles' 'Other Tracks' *1995: "Real Love" *1996: "All of You" *1996: "Do Me Right" *1996: "Keep the Lovin' In" *1996: "How in the World" *1996: "Better Next Time" *1997: "Don't By Shy" *1997: "Intimate" *1997: "Just When I Thought" *1997: "How You Make Me Feel" *1997: "Distraction" *1998: "Woman In Me (Live)" *1998: "When Will My Heart Beat Again (Live)" *1998: "If I Can't Have You" *2000: "Say Yes" *2000: "Lost" *2000: "Clear Water" *2000: "Better Back Off" *2003: "Don't Give Up" Category:Series 14 Category:2nd Place Category:Singers